Event Detail

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Harvard Forest News Conference to release Changes to the Land: Four Scenarios for the Future of the Massachusetts Landscape

Important new findings reveal promise and peril of land-use
decisions A ground-breaking study by Harvard University's Harvard
Forest and the Smithsonian Institution reveals that, if left
unchecked, recent land development trends will undermine
significant land conservation gains in Massachusetts, jeopardize
water quality, and limit the natural landscape's ability to protect
against climate change. The results of the study are summarized in
the new report, Changes to the Land: Four Scenarios for the Future
of the Massachusetts Landscape. The study used sophisticated
computer models to conduct a detailed acre-by-acre analysis of four
different land-use scenarios for the entire forested landscape of
Massachusetts. This is the first time a study of this magnitude has
been conducted for an entire state. WHO: David Foster, Director,
Harvard Forest Jonathan Thompson, Senior Ecologist, Harvard Forest
Kathy Fallon Lambert, Science & Policy Project Director,
Harvard Forest Maeve Vallely Bartlett, Massachusetts Undersecretary
for Environment NOTE: an additional conference call with the study
authors for reporters unable to attend the news conference will be
held at 12:00 NOON (eastern time) following the press conference.
Call-in number: 1-866-890-3820 Passcode: 85875498# To RSVP for the
press conference and to receive the embargoed press release and
executive summary of the report with a summary of policy
implications, contact: Clarisse Hart at 978-756-6157;
hart3@fas.harvard.edu Photos and B-roll will be available as of
Dec. 9 at the Changes to the Land press website.